Design Journal

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Everlane Twill Weekender Review

For the past 4 years, I've been using a Herschel Supply Co. Pop Quiz backpack. I don't do tons of traveling, enough however to start wearing the bag down. In addition to showing signs of wear, the bag wasn’t big enough. It bulged in all directions with hardly anything in it. I was longing for something which could fit the essentials comfortably. I began the journey of looking at backpacks and duffle bags. I looked at many brands. Herschel Supply, Hard Graft, Fjällräven, and more. I was coming up with zilch. Nothing seemed to be a good balance of quality and price. I was willing to go as high as $200 but ideally wanted to be as close to $100 as possible. “Maybe Everlane has bags" popped in my head one day. So I checked the site, and they did. Upon checking their site, I realized they had a lot of bags, which surprised me. Their backpacks weren't big enough either. So I concluded that unless I wanted to look as if I was off to ascend Mount Everest, a duffle bag was the option. I decided on a Twill Weekender. Here’s my take.

My Impression

When I ordered the twill weekender the measurements on the website seemed slightly bigger than I was wanting. Though I had doubts at first, it’s a great size with some extra room if I need it. It’s a really-nice looking bag; one that exudes minimalist beauty.

Features

The best feature is one that doesn't seem like a feature at all. the base of the bag is water resistant. This feature is thanks to 11 layers of screen printing. It not only makes the bag look 5 times as cool but also protects your stuff from dirty floors and moisture that you may not realize you’re setting your bag in. The handles are made of leather and they are a really-good length for carrying by hand or over shoulder. There is an interior pocket which could be useful for some people. However due to the small size, I am unable to fit my iPad.

Well Priced Quality

The bags construction is of a really nice quality. The fabric is heavy duty and feels fairly expensive. The handles are leather and just the right thickness and length. They aren’t thick and bulky and not thin and susceptible to stretching. The screen print covered bottom half also feels nice and adds to the aesthetics of the bag.

About Everlane

Everlane manufactures clothing and accessories. Their office is located here in Northern California. At first glance, I just assumed they were another clothing brand. Then I was in the market for a new bag and found they were much different. Their product pricing is transparent. Each product page displays the costs of materials, labor, duties associated with that product. They tell you the true cost of what you're buying is plus if you do a bit of math you can also see what the markup is. But, also compared to what traditional retailers would mark it up to… their manufacturing is also ethical. Products from every brand display the county of manufacturing. Typically that’s it, though. "Made in China" could imply a number of different possibilities. It could imply that coat you just bought was made in a child sweatshop, a forced labor factory, etc.

Everlane on the other hand not only tells you the city where it was made but also has profiles on all the factories they use. Their factories they use are all around the world. The factory profiles show actual workers, actual Everlane products.